The tenant turnover process typically focuses on repair of previous tenant damages and unit improvements. Changing the locks on the property is often forgotten or ignored. As tedious as this might be, there are some good reasons to go the extra distance, and there are some shortcuts. When a previous tenant leaves the landlord or property manager should ALWAYS change the locks on the property: both knob and deadbolt. If it is a small apartment building, everyone should get new front door keys. The now vacant apartment should also get a new key. This not only protects the other tenants in the building, but protects the new tenant from an easy break-in using an old key. It also protects the owner’s property from vandalism, while repairs are being made or theft of tools/supplies that might be left by the workman doing those repairs. There are several ways to change the key: Change the lockset- This can be the most expensive method as there is both a lockset purchase and installation labor component. If the landlord manages several properties then after a while the same locksets are just rotated between rentals and there is just the labor cost. If each door has a knob and deadbolt (as shown above) the materials alone (front and back doors) will be about $100 with at least $50 in labor. Re-key the lock- This can be as expensive as buying and installing a new lock if you choose the wrong locksmith. Shop around. The cost will be much lower if you have the locksmith change all the locks in the house in one visit. My locksmith will re-key two double cylinder deadbolts and two knob-sets for around $50-$75. Cylinder replacement- This technology has been around for awhile. Thee entire cylinder can be replaced within seconds using a special key. The special key allows the user to quickly pull out the existing cylinder and insert a differently keyed cylinder. The downside to this technology is that the investment is rather expensive ($50-075 per lockset), and you have to keep an inventory of cylinders. KwikSet SmartKey- This is my favorite. It’s rather recent technology where the user inserts the existing key and turns it a quarter turn. Then a special tool is inserted and through a small slot, then extracted. The old key is pulled out and the new one inserted. Turn the key a quarter turn back and you’re done! After the initial investment of about $40/ lockset all you need is a new key for future changes. What I do is replace the locks on one door with every tenant change. The doors without this new lock system I physically swap with an old lockset from another property. Over time the house gets everything changed and your re-keying costs go to zero! Another advantage of this KwikSet lock system is that if a tenant loses the house key and fears a break-in, it takes seconds to give them back that piece of mind and a new key (for a fee of course). 77th Meridian, LLC manages residential property in Anne Arundel and surrounding counties, and parts of Baltimore City for a monthly fee of 7.7% of the collected rent. Why pay the 10% others charge? We save you TIME and WORRY. . . . |
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